Consider, if you will, these nutrient-packed ingredients for a moment: sweet potatoes, cucumbers, pineapple, scallions, cilantro, and lean pork tenderloin. This Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Sweet Potatoes is a refreshing, healthful summer dinner with an active time of 25 minutes and 390 calories per serving. Sweet pineapple plus crisp, cool cucumber combined with mildly spicy ancho chile-rubbed pork is truly a winning marriage here, and satisfying, grilled sweet potatoes lend substance and even more sweetness. ‘Tis the season for grilling so give this easy dish a try this summer.
You’ll want to eat this vibrant salsa by the spoonful. It can be made ahead of time if you’d rather not save all the prep for dinnertime.
Tips (unsponsored): There’s nothing quite like grilled pork tenderloin. All pork tenderloins aren’t created equal. We’ve found the smaller loins (weighing around a pound, usually no more than two) are more natural and offer the best texture and flavor. In our experience, the larger pork loins, weighing two pounds or more, are more like meat that’s been pressed into the shape of a pork tenderloin, but have a gelatinous texture. Buy smaller pork tenderloins when you need to hit a certain weight and steer clear of the larger pieces of… meat(?) that are labeled as pork loins. We found ours at Trader Joe’s. Ancho chile powder isn’t the easiest spice to come by, so just use regular chile powder if you can’t find it.
Since this dish has a Mexican feel, what with the ancho chile powder and the fresh fruit salsa, let’s learn a few things about Mexico and it’s people:
- Most Mexicans speak Spanish, but there are about 60 other indigenous languages spoken as well.
- Indigenous Mexicans don’t grow wisdom teeth.
- Many families all live in one house together, including grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.
Tip: A word about the difference between sweet potatoes and yams: sweet potatoes are almost always mislabeled as “yams” in the supermarket. Apparently, true yams (which aren’t tapered at both ends and have a thick, bark-like skin) aren’t even grown here, in the U.S. and are natives of Asia, the Caribbean, and West Africa. So, unless you’re in a pretty posh American grocery store or an ethnic food store, you probably haven’t ever seen a true yam (http://colinpurrington.com/projects/yams-versus-sweet-potatoes/). That said, it’s pretty safe to say that anything labeled “yams” or “sweet potatoes” are, in fact, all sweet potatoes, just different varieties ranging from the deep orange flesh of the “garnets” and “jewels” to the lighter varieties with almost white flesh:
Let your kids help you pluck cilantro leaves from their stems (if you want to occupy them. Stems are fine to use here) and plate the food. As you prepare and enjoy this meal with those you love, teach them a few things about some of the ingredients:
- Sweet potatoes help your body keep healthy levels of sugar in your blood by releasing it slowly (as opposed to a spike in blood sugar).
- Scallions help keep your blood from forming clots.
- Cucumbers contain molybdenum, which helps your body metabolize fats and carbs properly.
From: Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Sweet Potatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
- 3 medium sweet potatoes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 Persian cucumbers, chopped
- 1 cup chopped pineapple
- 1 scallion, sliced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 small pork tenderloins (about 12 ounces each), trimmed
- Preheat a grill to medium high and brush the grates with olive oil. Pierce the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and microwave until just cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how large your potatoes are; let cool slightly, then slice into ½-inch-thick rounds. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a medium bowl and gently toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper.
- Meanwhile, toss the cucumbers, pineapple, scallion, cilantro and vinegar in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Mix the brown sugar, chile powder, cumin, ¾ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a separate bowl. Rub the pork all over with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the spice mixture.
- Grill the pork, covered, turning occasionally, until a thermometer inserted into the center registers 145 degrees F, about 15 minutes. Remove to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes. Grill the sweet potatoes, turning once, until marked, about 3 minutes. Slice the pork and top with the cucumber-pineapple salsa. Serve with the sweet potatoes.
Leave a Reply